


Hidden Presents

by PineTrain



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 11:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13122504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PineTrain/pseuds/PineTrain





	Hidden Presents

Prompt from @sprucespooks

* * *

 

“Doop-a-doop… boop, ploop… doop…”

Mabel sings nonsensical syllables in time with the lift and drop of her legs as she sits in the hallway. There's not much else to do but lean on the wall and bap them against the floor as she waits. She needs to be ready after all, and a sidelong glance at her stoic brother drives home that fact.

Suddenly, rumbles flow through the house. Mabel snaps her legs to her core, then immediately pushes herself to a crouched position. Dipper has likewise shifted into a tense and ready position. They share a glance filled with competitive spirit as they suffer the anticipation of the moment.

The rumbles cease and they know the car’s engine has stopped. Seconds of inaction tick by and by until they become minutes of frozen frustration. Mabel feels a droplet of sweat slip down her temple and along her jaw. The sensation tempts her to look at the waterworks of Dipper’s face, but she knows she can't afford the time such a distraction would take. She might need to move at any mo-

*erk*

Mabel's ears catch the quiet creak of the front door beginning to open and she seizes into action. She knows she needs every second and she shoots towards Dipper’s room. As she throws open the door, she hears her own slam against the wall a split second before his does. Nuts. She’s just barely behind, but that might be too much.

Her eyes flit around his room, passing over a pile of dirty clothes, down his unmade bed, and up stacks of opened boxes. Even to her trained eye, Dippers room appears much like it would any other day, but she knows that something's different, something’s here to find.

The clothes? He'd hid it there in the past and both succeeded and failed depending on how the mind games went. Did he think their unwashed nature would stop her from checking and hide it there? Or did he think she'd think he thought that and not hide it there?

The bed? It was pretty similar to the clothes in terms of mind games. Not as gross and therefore not as unappealing to search, but perhaps more likely a hiding place if he thought she thought he thought she thought…

As Mabel jumbles her thoughts in an effort to outsmart her brother, her eyes begin to turn from the bed to the boxes in preparation to add another layer to the mix, but catch on something. A seam on the bed whose stitches are slightly different from their neighbors. It's a subtle difference, but Mabel’s an expert on the topic. She darts towards it and begins removing the stitching quickly, yet carefully.

This is their yearly competition, or one of them anyway. The first twin to find the other’s present for them on the 23rd wins and gets to open it. Start time is when mom and dad get back from their own annual event. Loser doesn't get to open their present and also has to buy a new one to replace the opened one. It's a fun game, but much more intense than when they first started years ago.

Mabel finishes undoing the stitching and finds an envelope inside the mattress. She skims the congratulations and focuses on the riddle it contains; Dipper might have already found her envelope already, after all. While they used to simply hide the present within their own rooms, now that's just where things begin. Mabel crushes the note in her hand, stretches a bit, then flies out the room in search of the next hint.


End file.
